Tears of a Traitor
by Fairly Odd New Yorker
Summary: Before Edmund was imprisoned, there was Hazelle. She regrets all she's done and wants forgiveness, but feels it won't be given to her. Tumnus erases her dark thoughts and gives her the will to survive. Bad at summaries, please R&R TumnusOC Little romance
1. The Unfortunate Newcomer

**Tears of a Traitor**

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**(A/N)-** Longest chapter I've ever written. O-O Please no flaming. Constructive criticism is welcome nn Not sure if I'll make an extra chapter ... depends ...

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**- Chapter 1 - The Unfortunate Newcomer

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**  
Alone in the icy depths of the White Witch's dungeons, there laid a lonely shivering faun. She was in a tight ball in the far corner, hidden in the shadows, desperate to try and keep warm. It was known for female fauns to have lesser fur than male fauns, and she didn't mind having less fur up until now. She watched as each breath of air brought a cloud of humidity in front of her face, and she focused hard on the thought of a warm crackling fireplace burning next to her. 

She shifted uncomfortably, her hooves in shackles. She didn't know why she let herself get caught. Being an outcast made her enough of an easy target, but she was excellent with her hooves. She could kick the crap out of any creature that dared threaten her. Why she let her guard down … she couldn't figure out. Maybe it was because a part of her was beginning to value her life less and less by each passing day. Or maybe her 'insanity' of isolating herself from the rest of the faun community and all of Narnia had finally caught up with her. And her ability to lie so believably certainly didn't make her position any better.

She could almost picture that fireplace when a whip cracked somewhere in the castle and a deafening cry echoed off the icicle ceilings. She jolted, wincing at the pain it brought to the heavy shackles on her bones, and she curled tighter in a ball, backing up as far as she could into her corner. An uncontrollable shiver swept through her as she tried to keep her shaking body still. She was partially shaking to the cold, but now, it was fear. She prayed her time wouldn't come. Not now. She wasn't quite ready yet … then again, when would she? How could she think it to be so much easier to leave this world? To die, and be rid of all pain …? She found herself wanting to live, which was a thought that had never passed through her mind up until her life was on the line.

The prison doors thundered open a few cells away, and her chain clinked as she pressed her back so hard against the icy wall that she almost felt she was a part of it.

The bison-man that had dragged her into this dark cruel place had dragged in yet another, a faun too, nonetheless. And she thought she was the only one left …

It was a male, and he looked to be lifeless as the servant clapped on a pair of shackles onto his legs, and threw him into the neighboring cell like a bag of trash. He smacked hard onto the frozen floor with a sickening thud, and he let out a low groan. Peering over curiously through the icicles that separated them, she saw a trickle of blood run down the side of his face and onto the ground.

The prison doors slammed shut again, and all was quiet. Cautiously, she waited until the creature's footsteps were no longer heard, and she snuck a peek at the newbie.

He had begun to pull himself off the ice, staggering as he did so, and he dragged his shackles slowly with him. He obviously hadn't seen her yet.

She pushed herself off the wall and placed a cold hand onto the icy floor and crept across slowly towards him. It had been … what … about five years since she had seen another of her kind … and she had always thought she never wanted to see another faun ever again …

Her chain clinked rather loudly and he jumped in fear. Their eyes met suddenly. They were both frightened, but the girl faun didn't ever want to admit that to anyone but herself.

"H- … Hello …" he greeted hoarsely, trembling. He pulled the red scarf he wore around his neck closer to his skin. Lucky bastard, she thought. All she had was a lousy lame excuse of a shirt that didn't seem to keep her any warmer than she'd be without it.

"Hi …" she uttered out shyly. It was so unlike her. She blamed it on the temperature. She'd normally cut a glare and turn away. Maybe it was the feeling that this place had … it made her crave for someone to talk with besides the possible tortured souls that might live within the walls of the very room.

He felt the blood on his chin and wiped it onto his hand, looking at it just to wince at the sight.

"Are you alright?" she asked, almost in a whisper.

"I think so …" he replied, and looked up, "Does it look serious?"

She observed the small cuts all about on his face, "Minor injuries, I think," she said, "Nothing too serious. You do look pretty beat up though."

He nodded, ashamed, "And yourself? What happened to you?" he was referring to the dried blood she guessed was still on her face, and she blushed angrily, "I got attacked in the forest. I dunno why. Just for being alone, I s'pose."

He nodded in understanding, looking down at his grazed palms.

"Why are you here?" she asked curiously. He glanced up and looked away,

"I don't want to say, …" he murmured, his eyes getting glassy with tears, "I'm a very bad faun …"

"Well, you're not alone there," she said with a shaky grin, her forehead pressed against the side of one of the many icicles that divided them. There was a long pause of silence, and then she persisted, "It can't be that bad,"

"I just don't want to _talk_ about it!" he snapped, and she backed off. Her long, slightly floppy ears went back in annoyance, "You don't have to get all _snippy_ about it, _geeeez _…" she dragged her legs away as she went to curl back up in her corner, "Now I know why I despise my own kind …" she muttered angrily.

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**(A/N)-** Short. I know. No flaming, please ;-; 


	2. Losing Hope

**Tears of a Traitor

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(A/N)- **I'm still working on 'Dimensional Dismay', but I'm taking a little break. Umm ... this one's a bit fluffy, but not too much. I hope.  
**

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-Chapter 2- Losing Hope

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**

The next morning she awoke abruptly and unpleasantly to the god awful sound of the metal tray of the so-called food clanging loudly on the ice floor. It wasn't as if she was going to eat it anyway. Thus far, she hadn't been hungry. Well … at least not 'very' hungry. She assured herself she could last a few days. She just simply took a sip of milk before the damned thing eventually would freeze.

Rubbing her forehead in frustration, she heard someone speak, and it caught her by surprise for a second until her memory came to that she remembered about the unfortunate newcomer.

"I'm sorry about last night," he murmured, warily biting into the strange black crusty thing that they referred to as food.

"That stuff tastes like total crap," she warned, rubbing her eyes. She went to sit up and her back went all stiff and she cursed, cracking it.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, probably desperate not to lose someone he could converse with.

Her bright green eyes glared at him through the shadows, "Of course; if I didn't I wouldn't have talked to you." She said, pulling herself a bit closer.

He hesitantly took a small bite out of the food. She watched in disgust as he swallowed a piece, "You're right," he said, "It tastes like crap," he said with a nervous laugh.

"I wasn't lying. It's your fault you didn't believe me." She said.

"Well … it tastes like crap, but that's all we're getting …" he said, shrugging.

"What's your name, anyway?" she asked suddenly.

He swallowed another piece forcefully, "Tumnus," he replied.

"I'm Hazelle." She introduced.

He stopped eating, "… That's a faun name. Are you a faun?"

"Of _course_ I am," she said with a frown.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, "I just can't see you- it's rather dark …"

She scooted closer, sliding her hooves across the ice and pulled herself up near the icicles. He saw her much clearer, now that she was in the pale sunlight that filtered through the icicles.

She was most definitely a faun, with dark ebony hair down to her shoulders, short round-tipped horns, and ears that hung at the sides of her face, instead of outward like most fauns had. Freckles dotted her pale and worried face, which held several scars and healing cuts, possibly inflicted upon her, either during her stay or when she was caught.

She smiled meekly, but her eyebrows still showed the sadness she held for having to stay in a place like this. Short, uneven bangs shadowed her bright green eyes. She looked like she was starting to get malnourished, but not severely yet.

"If you don't mind me saying, you're rather lovely, …" he said in a low tone, looking away with a blush. She snorted with laughter at his embarrassment.

"You're not so bad yourself, despite your injuries," she said with a grin.

A smile steadily spread across Tumnus' shy face.

-----

Hazelle woke up that night with a start. It was because Jadis, the White Witch, was yelling in anger at someone- though she was pretty far away, possibly in her throne room, her voice always managed to pierce through Hazelle's dreams.

She had been sleeping against the floor, using her hands as a pillow. The circulation had been lost through her palms from the weight of her head, and she rubbed them, both to keep warm and to keep the blood flowing through them.

She looked over to see if Tumnus had been awakened. He was leaning against the wall next to the icicle bars, looking up through the high window at the moonlight. She saw his eyes glistening with tears as he stared intently at the moon. She didn't want to ask him what he was upset about, since she feared he'd snap at her again. Instead she brought up something- something that she'd have had nightmares about for the couple weeks she'd been imprisoned here.

"I'm worried that my time is going to come." She said quietly. Tumnus looked over.

"Why? How long have you been here?" he asked.

"About two weeks," she replied, lying down on the floor again, looking up at him through the ice shards.

"Well … you shouldn't worry so much."

"I'm not worried _so_ much but I'm worried about how they'll rid of me," she said.

He sighed deeply, "I believe we'll be turned to stone." He said flatly.

Her brows furrowed, "What makes you so sure?"

He looked down at his hands, fingering with his red knitted scarf, "Didn't you see the statues outside?"

That hit her. He must be right … there was an extraordinary amount of statues in the courtyard of the castle. They couldn't all possibly have been sculpted by hand … she could remember noticing how detailed they were as that bison-man dragged her along the snow, up the stairs, and into the castle …

"It probably hurts a bit to be turned to stone," he said, "But when Aslan rises again, I'm sure he'll be able to return everyone back to normal."

She half-laughed as she sat up. He whipped around, glaring darkly at her.

"You defy Aslan?" he asked stiffly.

She shook her head, "No. But where is he? Why is he taking so long? If Aslan is our ruler, and the most powerful creature alive, why can't he take down the White Witch?" she asked, a tear running down her cheek, "I cried out for help, and he didn't come. I was attacked out there by a pack of wolves. I'm now trapped, awaiting my cruel fate."

"He is on his way- I'm sure of it," Tumnus comforted, his anger dissipated by her tears. "We just need to have faith,"

"Faith," she spat through her tears, "A load of crap. Even if he were around, even if the White Witch hadn't taken over the lands, he'd never come when I called for help. No one ever did. That's the price you pay for being an oddball. You're not only outcast by your family, but you're ignored when you desperately need help." She wiped her tears with her clammy hands, shuddering. It was the sudden realization of all this that upset her. She never rounded it all up before like this. Admitting it to someone made it even truer. She wasn't _only_ going to die; she was going to die in pieces rather than peacefully. She always hoped that when her dying day would come, that life would have been good to her, one way or another. She couldn't think of anything good in her life.

"You're not being ignored," he insisted, "I know I've only just met you, but … y'see, I'm an outcast as well." He admitted, "Self-inflicted this position on me," he said with a half-laugh, "I preferred to be alone a lot, but … I had faith in Aslan. I prayed that I would find a friend. And I did, a young daughter of Eve. I didn't turn her in to the White Witch, and that landed me here. But as long as she's safe, I'm happy about what I did. And Aslan will surely save me for it. He'll save everyone, just wait and see."

"He won't save me." She replied solemnly.

"Yes he will."

She shook her head sadly, and dragged her shackled hooves back into the darkness of her cell to try to conceal her shame she held for her life.

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**(A/N)**- Yeah, I know, angsty :-P So sorry ... I hope it's not too angsty ... no flamers please. Review if you'd like. 


	3. Say A Prayer For Me

**Tears of a Traitor

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(A/N)- **Jadis appearance :-P And ... this might be the end. Depends. inspired by the song 'Plowed' by Evergreen Terrace.  
**

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-Chapter 3- Say a Prayer For Me

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**

And again, she shot out of her sleep. But she'd wished she hadn't- she'd much rather have preferred it if she died in the night.

A sharp prod of some kind of hard weapon or something jabbed her piercingly into her ribs. She cried out, and clutched her side. Her eyes squeezed shut in pain, and when she opened them, she saw the White Witch. Towering over her with her cold dark eyes. She stared down at her as if she was a bug on the floor that needed to be squashed.

"Do you remember your crime _now_?" she asked.

"What?" she asked. Wrong answer.

She went to jab her again but Hazelle darted as fast as she could, but her shackled hooves held her down and she fell with an 'oomf' over the cold hard chains.

"You've worked for me long enough- you know the penalty for disobeying your master."

Hazelle took her time sitting up. She stared hard at the floor as she spoke- she could feel both Tumnus' and Jadis' eyes glaring into her right now.

"I committed no crime. I've told you plenty of times before that I will harm anyone _but_ a youngling."

"And I've told you plenty of times that your rules do not apply to what I order you to do!" she thundered, and her voice lightened, "I've lost a valuable ally … just because you wouldn't harm a child?" she asked incredulously, "Children are weak. They grow to be strong. You must take them down whilst they are young!"

She poked her roughly with her wand once, twice, three times as she said, "Do you understand?"

Gritting her teeth from the pain, she replied, "I do now." She lied.

Jadis' eyebrow twitched slightly, "You do? Good. Something for you to keep in mind while you crumble away in my courtyard."

She turned, making sure she whipped Hazelle in the face with her dress. A tear trickled down Hazelle's face, shocking her. She'd be walking out the door with her mistress right now, if she'd only concentrated on a good lie beforehand. But now … she was absolutely positively done for.

The prison doors sealed shut, and with it, they had sealed her fate.

Her eyes still focused on the icy floor in front of her. Her mind ignored the fact that her hooves were uncomfortably twisted over one another in her struggle.

"Why did you lie to me?" Tumnus asked. She didn't stir.

He didn't press on like she thought he would; he just turned his back away in resentment.

"It's the only thing I'm good for." She answered in a small voice, "Besides, I hardly even know you so it's better off that way, innit?"

He didn't reply.

She sighed, "I don't want to be missed. I just want to take what's coming to me." He still didn't respond, and she continued, "I didn't lie to you much, you know." She pointed out, "The only lie that I said was I didn't know why they jumped me, but I did. Funny how doing the right thing will get me in trouble." She said, pulling her hooves in front of her and rubbing her legs to try and numb the pain.

"That crap about Aslan not coming to my aid," she scoffed, "I don't deserve his help. I got what was coming to me."

"Oh, stop being so melodramatic!" Tumnus snapped, turning around, "You're just making it worse for yourself by saying your life has no value. Truly you don't honestly feel that way!"

She stared into his eyes for a moment, and then turned away, staring into the palms of her hands, "How can a life be valued when one hasn't any friends? When one lies to make their life go their way? When one resorts to allying with the enemy just to save one's back?" her voice rose slightly, and she coughed, looking up at him, "You're the only one I've had a nice little talk with in my whole life, and not even three days in here and you hate my guts."

"I never said that." He answered quietly.

"No you didn't but I bet you were thinking it." She retorted, "Traitors don't deserve to live. I betrayed Narnia. I betrayed Jadis."

"But don't you see?" he said earnestly, "By betraying Jadis, you did what was right. Whether or not you believe in Aslan, you did _good_, Hazelle!"

A weary smile crept slowly across her face, "I suppose so … but … doing one good deed doesn't justify my past actions."

"Maybe not," he agreed, "But you'd be amazed of what a difference one good deed can make," he said with a smile.

She smiled shyly back, trembling a little.

It wasn't long after that she heard steps coming down the hall, heading right for them. Her eyes went wide with fear, and she scooted quickly over to Tumnus' side.

"Say a _prayer_ for me," she said hoarsely, her hands gripped tightly around the icicles. He wrapped his hand firmly around hers. It felt nice and warm, compared to her icy fingers, "Don't worry. I will." He assured, "I promise, you'll be alright."

She laughed nervously, shaking, "That's a lot to promise," she said, pressing her forehead hard against one of the icicles, staring down at his hand on hers as the footsteps echoed menacingly through her brain. "Wow, I suddenly don't feel I deserve what's coming to me," she said with a dry, uneasy laugh.

Then, out of nowhere … she felt his lips press against the side of her face through the small gap in the icicles that divided them. Shocked, she jumped back, looking at him with her eyes wide as she felt her face grow hot.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, looking away in embarrassment, "That was r-rude of me. Forg-give me."

She was at a loss for words. She didn't think … well, she didn't know him too well … but she guessed he wasn't someone who'd be so forward like that. It really surprised her. Rather … it _scared_ her. A bit.

She wanted to say something, but at the next second, the doors burst open and the bison-man appeared, grinning almost insanely. He threw open the chamber door and grabbed her roughly by the shirt collar. She didn't stir; she remained almost lifeless as he unlocked the shackles and she stared into Tumnus' sad eyes. She grinned mischievously, and once the shackles were off, she kicked and bucked her legs with the strength she had left. She aimed too high and kicked him in the stomach. He recoiled a bit with a grunt, but regained his hold on her and shook her roughly, "Don't make things worse than they already are," he said gruffly.

She winced as he pulled her wrists behind her back and clapped on handcuffs, and she replied through gritted teeth, "Knowing you, I'd say you deserved it." She grinned grimly.

He scowled stupidly, and dropped her onto the floor and dragged her behind him as he went through the doors. She gave one last look at Tumnus, whose eyes were filled with tears. Melodramatic, she thought, for him to care about her like that. She smiled reassuringly at him, and pulled her handcuffed hands up to blow him a kiss. She thought it stupid and lovey-dovey like, but … the guy looked so embarrassed after he kissed her, as did she … she just thought she'd give him reassurance that she wasn't repulsed by his action. After all … it did feel good. She could admit that, but only to herself.

He smiled in response, and she laughed at her own childish action. The bison man shook her and growled, "Shut up," without looking back. Her grin didn't fade. For once she was happy. Too bad she had finally laughed whole-heartedly when, mortifyingly enough, it was practically her funeral. But she trusted Tumnus, oddly enough. And she knew she did the right thing, not to attack those children's on Jadis' command. She only hoped Aslan would think the same.

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**(A/N)-** Yeah, I know ish FLUFFY:-( I couldn't help it ... please no flames ... I'm a bit insecure about this fanfic, and I don't want it being tormented by words ... umm ... it may be the end- I'm not sure if I'm going to continue another chapter, since I don't think this will get many readers. Just no flamers please :-) I can't say that enough ... 


	4. Indecisive

**Tears of a Traitor****

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****(A/N)-** Thanks to my first three reviewers:-) It truly means a lot to me.  
This is a bit short, but I'm expanding the battle scene to make up for it.

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**-Chapter 4- Indecisive

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**

When one thinks about how it must feel to be turned to stone, the thought alone is painful. But to have it happen to you, obviously, is much worse. Jadis showed no mercy as she jammed the ice staff hard into her ribs. It started from the point where it stabbed and spread through her body, turning her skin and everything beneath it into stone. It felt as if she had a migraine briefly as she cried out, but her pain was ended as she became completely stone.

It was if she had gone to sleep, except she couldn't dream. And it wasn't too peaceful either.

And like every night someone falls to sleep, the time to awaken comes a lot quicker than expected. And it did. Though … even that was painful.

She was keeling over from the pain when she completely went to stone, and that's how she awoke. She took a quick gasp of air, her heart hammering in her chest as she choked on some blood, and she teetered, heading face first towards the ground.

As soon as she felt gravity come and take over, she was caught firmly by the shoulders. She coughed painfully as the arms let her rest a bit, and she looked up to meet two familiar eyes.

"Tumnus …" she said in a raspy tone, and he smiled. She looked past him to see two girls walk by, one pretty short, obviously a youngling, and an older one. They both shared the same deep brown hair. The eldest looked over and beamed as she followed the little one. Hazelle's eyes grew wide as she saw whom they were both following.

"Aslan …" she whispered fearfully, clutching Tumnus' arm firmly.

"It's alright," he assured, "I told him about you. He has redeemed you."

She regained her posture steadily, wiping the blood away from the corner of her mouth with one finger, "Did you also happen to mention I'm a terrific liar?" she hissed, a bit angered, avoiding eye contact, another habit of hers, and she stared down at her hands in shame.

"But you can tell the truth when you want to," he pointed out, "And you did defy Jadis,"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she brushed off, looking up at him. His eyes were tearing a little, as if he was ready to cry.

"You're too sensitive, you know," she declared with a wry grin.

He choked out a laugh, "Well, you're too honest,"

"I thought I was a liar," she reminded, folding her arms.

"Friends," A voice roared. It was Aslan, and he was addressing the Narnians that he had restored, "We must make haste. A war for our land is commencing at this very moment. We must come to their aide," he commanded, and he let the two girls climb onto his back before he sped off towards the valley that lay between the mountains.

The soldiers followed suit, but Hazelle waited. Tumnus went to join the others, and he turned when he realized she wasn't at his side. She just stood there, her little depressed melodramatic self, staring down at her arm as her left hand clenched her right's elbow.

"Hazelle," he called, but she didn't look up. He heaved a sigh at how difficult she was being, and he walked up to her, "Aren't you coming?"

She shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid I can't."

He sighed, "Are you still on about defying Aslan? I told you--"

"It's not that!" she shouted, scaring him. "I'm sorry, Tumnus, but it's not that. My blood, by _law_, belongs to her. Once a traitor, always a traitor."

"That's not true!" he fought, "You believe in a free Narnia, don't you?"

"Yes …" she replied almost reluctantly.

"Then you rebelled. Your blood no longer belongs to her."

She stared at the ground, and looked up suddenly, glaring, "Look, why do you _care_ so much?"

"I'm only trying to help a friend," he exclaimed.

"Don't waste your _breath_," she spat. She was starting to get sick of him. She was practically born a traitor, and just because she defied Jadis didn't mean she was good enough for Aslan's army. She had defied Aslan long before she defied Jadis. Her mind was set. She was a neutral nobody. She belonged to no side. She'd might as well just stick around and watch these idiots have their stupid battle, because it won't end as the Narnians hope it to be. Jadis was much too strong, she knew that much.

Tumnus turned to see the last of the soldiers disappear into the wood, and he looked darkly into Hazelle's eyes, "Do what you want. I have to protect my friends," he said, and took off after the others.

She leaned against the pillar she'd been frozen near, staring off into the distance, "What an idiot," she muttered. It may be right at this time to point out that not only is she indecisive, mean, and a bit crazy, but she'd also gained a habit of talking to herself, along with the lying ability she expanded over time. It was a habit gained over the years for not having a friend. It actually helped her though- it made her get her thoughts straight. Which is exactly what she needed right now.

"Why does he care about me? He doesn't even know me." She pushed herself off the pillar and nudged a couple of small rocks aside with her hooves as she walked slowly towards the direction he'd run off in.

"And why the hell did he … _kiss_ me?" she said in fake-disgust, and if anyone heard her say that, it was very evident that she didn't mind the kiss one bit, "I only knew him … what … three days?" she exclaimed, "Not even!"

She looked up to the mountains, the wind played wildly with her dark hair. She sighed deeply, "Would it be daft to help them just 'cause he's the only one who'd ever have the nerve to care that much?" she asked the wind. She had a feeling that it was listening. It blew harder in her face, and she squinted. "Would that be a 'yes'?" she asked herself in wonderment with a frown.

She turned away, heading towards the forest that sheltered her small, yet humble, little home. She stopped suddenly in her stride. Something held her back.

She groaned angrily, storming off towards the battlefield, "Damn him!" she growled ferociously as she broke into a run.

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**(A/N)-** Please review- the next chapter will be up ASAP. This story will be shorter than my others were meant to be, but I'm making it a priority to get this done. That'll make it the first story I've ever finished:-) lol ... damn, I'm pathetic ... 


	5. The Battle

**Tears of a Traitor

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****(A/N)-** You can only imagine the creativity that was put into the chapter titl 'rolls eyes'. Thank you so much, my reviewers:-)

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**-Chapter 5- The Battle

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**

The sight of the battlefield sent fear down her spine. Her eyes darted around the mass of creatures big and small battling one another to the death. Some centaurs trotted around, knocking the White Witch's soldiers to the ground with their long swords and spears. Others attacked fiercely with their jaws, pinning their foes to the ground.

She felt a pang of guilt, as she knew that Tumnus must be down there.

She raced along the cliff side, pounding the earth beneath her hooves both out of anger and fear. She saw that Aslan had only just arrived, and he was scaling to the peak of the mountain. When she saw that Tumnus was amongst the soldiers that had just arrived, she slowed, and sighed with relief. She took time to catch her breath, but as soon as she got about ten seconds worth, the mighty lion's roar thundered across the land. She was close enough to see Tumnus' determined face as he ran down the mountain, ramming his shoulder into one of Jadis' soldiers.

"That idiot!" she said to herself as she ran, "He's going to get himself killed!"

Her right hoof tripped on a protruding rock in the uneven earth, and it sent her tumbling for a short time off the side of the hill. If some moron out there had enough stupidity to check out the scenery, they would've seen a very embarrassed, very shocked, faun. She went to pull herself up as quickly as she could when a boar-beast came charging at her with his sword. So much for random thinking- there actually _was_ an idiot that had happened to enjoy the scenery, thus catching a Narnian foe off guard- her.

She stumbled to get to her feet and he went to ram the sword into her stomach. She darted out of the way at the last second and swiftly kicked the boar in his rear, causing him to stab the ground instead. Proud of herself, she stomped onto his back, one hoof on the back of his skull as she snatched up his sword.

"Thanks," she said casually with a grin, and ran like the wind towards the oncoming rush of soldiers. She had lost sight of Tumnus thanks to that idiotically clumsy fall of hers.

She watched her footing this time, and she ran up an awfully large rock and leapt off, landing with both feet on the ground. She tried to keep watch on where she was stepping whilst trying to find Tumnus. It was hard to look out for his bright red scarf when everyone on Aslan's side wore at least one little thing with red on it. Then again, spotting a suicidal-looking faun with no armor on shouldn't be too hard. After all, she was one. _And_ a blonde bison-man noticed her, and charged at her from behind a rock, his sword rose high as he prepared to strike.

She aimed to stab him in the stomach between his armor lining, but as she did, he fell over. Not wanting to lose her only weapon, she bolted aside, wincing painfully as he tumbled headfirst onto a sharp rock.

"Hazelle!" Tumnus called, and her head shot up in his direction, "What are you crazy?" he asked, half-worried, half-angry, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

She scoffed, "You're one to talk- at least _I_ have a _weapon_ …" she handed her sword to him, and bent down to pry the other sword out of it's unconscious owner's hands.

"Besides," she started, yanking the sword from the enemy's grip, "I thought you wanted me to fight," she said, looking into his eyes, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I do, but I don't want you to get --" She ran up and pushed him aside, shoving her sword into a harpy, who had swooped down to try and grab Tumnus.

She swung the dying harpy over her head, causing it to slide off her sword and it landed on top of the unconscious bison man.

"Since when do you not want me getting hurt?" she asked incredulously, "I'm a selfish liar," she reminded, which had only been true up until the point where she'd raced onto the battlefield to save a man's life, despite the fact that she hardly knew the guy.

"You saved my life just now, but you're _selfish_?" he asked, shaking his head, "You really are difficult." He said, smiling briefly, "Come on,"

"No, I'll meet up with you later," she said confidently, "I've got a score to settle,"

"Are you going after that witch?" Tumnus asked fearfully.

She snorted with laughter, "Nope, I'm not _that_ crazy- I'll just take down a couple of her henchmen," she said, and turned, her sword knocking one of Jadis' soldiers down a pretty high drop on the side of the hill. She jumped in surprise and almost lost her balance, looking befuddled as she regained it. She pretended she did it on purpose and headed further up the mountain, until she was out of Tumnus' sight. She helped a centaur fight off several hyenas that had attacked him, and shoved her sword through one of them, sending the others running in fear. It was a normal thing for her to kill, since she had to carry out the White Witch's commands, but it was weird for her to be attacking the side she was once a part of.

Loud snarling came from the direction she crept in, and she quickly made a U-turn into the other direction. She stood atop a rock and saw a bull-man paw at the ground as he prepared to charge at someone near the rock, or if he was stupid, he was probably trying to commit suicide by smashing his head into a wall. Either way, she wanted to take him out.

She backed up a couple of feet, and took a running leap off the cliff. Her hooves collided with his skull and he flipped backward into the air, hard into a rock. She fell hard on her spine, looking up into the sky. She saw Tumnus rush to her side and she waved dazedly, "Helllooo …" she said, sounding a bit silly. She had guessed she hit her head.

He went to move her, and she tensed up. A shot of unbelievable pain went over her shoulders and neck, "Don't don't don't!" she said in one breath, hissing through clenched teeth, "Ahh …"

She felt the ground pulsate beneath her and evidently the creature she attacked wasn't knocked out. She couldn't see him though- she stared at the sky as the griffins flew overhead, attacking the harpies. She watched as Tumnus took up her sword and disappeared from her view. She heard a painful cry, and she was well enough to recognize that wasn't Tumnus. She tried to pull herself up, but the searing pain was too much for her. She'd take a day of Jadis poking her with that damned staff of hers over this. She began to wonder if anything was broken. That would be bloody brilliant. Lying there helplessly in the middle of a battlefield. Just how she wanted to die.

She stared up at the tip of the cliff that shadowed her from the sun. She had heard it somewhere once that if one is enduring an extreme amount of pain that it was important to concentrate hard on something and stay awake. She couldn't be all too sure if this was true, since dunderheads populated most of Jadis' army. And considering the position she was in now, she felt she was one of those dunderheads.

The sunlight blinded her when she moved her head slightly. When she tried to move it back, her body seemed to complain. She gritted her teeth and quenched her eyes shut, trying to ignore the sound of the swords colliding and throats being cut. And at that precise moment that she did so, a low growl sent her heart racing, and she opened her eyes wide to see what was shading her from the sun- a large Siberian tiger. It bared its teeth menacingly, shifting its paws, preparing to pounce. She stared helplessly into it's dark yellow eyes … it wasn't enough that she was already in pain- she was going to get mauled by a tiger also. A two for one deal, she thought sarcastically.

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**(A/N)-** Sorry, needed to end it somewhere. I've got lots more to it. Well, maybe not a lot but to me it feels like it. Please review- it's very much appreciated. :-) I look forward to them everyday!(the good ones, anyway :-)


	6. Farewells

**Tears of a Traitor****

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(A/N)- **Once again, I thank all my reviewers:-) You've strived me to write this till its' completion. It leaves room for a continuance, possibly, but I think I'll leave it as is. I'm so glad to be finally done with something, lol:-)**

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-Chapter 6- Farewells

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**

"Oy!" Tumnus' voice called, and the tiger looked up with a snarl. She saw Tumnus try to lead it away, swinging both the swords at his face. The tiger swiped a mighty paw and Tumnus stumbled to the ground, lying motionless with his back to her shoulder. Of all times for her to be so incredibly helpless! She went to pull herself up, but it was useless. There was too much pain in her spine- and stupidly enough, it was a self-inflicted injury. She never knew the ground could cause this much pain, since she'd usually collided with it out of clumsiness and it never hurt her much until now.

Something or someone must've struck the tiger, since it yowled with pain and leapt over them, and bounded away. Hazelle tried to sit up, but Tumnus grabbed her arm firmly, "No, don't move- you'll only make it worse."

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

He was quiet for a moment, and she thought he didn't hear her. She was about to ask again when he spoke, "Just a little."

"What's _'a little'_?" she asked sharply.

She heard footsteps approaching hastily, and the younger human girl she saw earlier dropped to her side, "Are you alright?" she asked, and looked over to Tumnus, "Mr. Tumnus!" she cried fearfully, eyes wide.

"Lucy, we need to move quickly," another voice warned.

"I think her spine's cracked," Tumnus said quietly. Lucy fumbled with something in her cloak, and unveiled a small bottle. She unscrewed the top as she said, "Here- this'll make it better," she assured as she went to pour it in her mouth.

Hazelle twitched trying to move away but the injury wouldn't let her. She squeezed her eyes shut and said through gritted teeth, "I'm not taking any medicine- if it's broken it won't do anything."

"This will heal you, trust me," she insisted. And Hazelle, not wanting to make herself seem like a stubborn brat, nor wanting to waste any time, reluctantly opened her mouth slightly and let her pour it in.

It didn't taste bad … for medicine, anyway. It tasted a bit like cherry, but not that horrible taste that ordinary cherry-flavored medicine had.

"Get up," Tumnus ordered.

"Are you crazy?" she asked incredulously, and she went to try and look up at him, and … oddly enough, the pain was completely gone. Like she had never even received it. She felt him grab gently but firmly at her hand and pull her upright. She was completely tension free.

"Whoa …" she breathed in relief, and looked up at Tumnus, "Hol_eee_ …" she gasped.

He had three long scratches, trickling blood across his poor cute face. Wait a minute. Did she just think 'cute'? A blush came to her face. Ew no …

Lucy quickly gave him some of her medicine, and his face suddenly transformed back to normal, not leaving any trace of an injury. She hugged him quickly, "I've got to help the others. Stay out of trouble, the both of you," she said with a grin.

"Lucy!" they looked over to see the older human girl, armed with a bow and arrow. "Coming, Susan!" Lucy called, getting to her feet and running off with her as they ran down the hill.

"Where is everyone?" Hazelle asked as Tumnus got to his feet. He extended a hand, and she took it shakily and he helped her up. As she brushed the dirt off her shirt, he answered, "That tiger was the last of her army. Aslan has slain the Witch."

She looked up, staring intensely into his eyes, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes," he said sternly with a nod, "I saw Aslan leap at her just before I got smacked in the face by that tiger."

She laughed shakily, "Well, lucky for you there was no real price to be paid for not paying attention to the task at hand," he grinned.

She stared down at her fingers for a moment, "So …" she looked up at him. His short curly hair blew gently in the wind. He smiled warmly at her, and she just noticed he had nice greenish-blue colored eyes. Oh, what the hell was she thinking?

"Thank you for …um … staying by me," she sighed gratefully, "If I were on the Witch's side, they'd have put me out of my misery." She admitted numbly.

"You're welcome. And thank you for saving my life." He said. Tears were in his eyes again dammit no!

She smiled uneasily, and continued, "And if it weren't for Lucy's medicine, I probably would've … well …" she looked down at her hands again, running her fingers in zigzag lines on her palm, "Just … thank her for me."

His smile faded suddenly, "Aren't you going to thank her yourself? You are going to Cair Paravel with us … aren't you?"

She shook her head, not meeting his eyes, "Nope. I've got to get back home," she explained. She could feel tears forming in her eyes and she felt angry at herself for it, "Besides, you'll be okay without me …" and she wondered why she said that.

"No," he said suddenly, and she looked up, a bit shocked, "I mean … well … I-I only just met you …" his face reddened, "W-What I mean to say is … I-I … I usually like to get to know others more … as friends …"

"Oh," she said quietly, "You didn't have to stutter so much," she said with a wry grin.

"So are you going to stay a while?" he asked hopefully.

She shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid I can't. I've got some thinking to do … and cleaning. I can only hope Maugrim didn't damage my valuables in his search for me." She said, laughing dryly. "So … I suppose I'll see you around, then …" she said, and held out a hand. He looked surprised at it. She kept forgetting; it was only a custom held by humans. She withdrew her hand, embarrassed, but then he took it. He shook it weird though- like he was pinching her fingers or something. She laughed, wiping her teary eyes casually, "Where'd you learn that?"

"From Lucy," he replied, "Where did _you_ learn that?"

She smiled grimly, "The White Witch. She visited the human world once. She shook hands a lot with those of us who had them, even though she'd continuously complain about how much she hated the humans and their ways." She explained, "I guess I grew into her strange habit of shaking hands like that," she said, laughing nervously. He smiled weakly back.

She looked down. He was still holding her hand in that odd way.

"Tumnus …?" she asked.

"Y-Yes …?"

"Can I have my hand back?" she asked kindly with a smirk. He quickly released it, blushing with embarrassment. She smiled coyly at him, but it dissipated soon later.

"I … must be going now," she reminded.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"It was … nice meeting you." She said.

"Nice … meeting you too … Hazelle."

She blushed lightly when he said her name. She was beginning to loathe the way his voice had an effect on her. Turning around with a grim smile, she headed down the mountain, frowning at herself. How could you be so stupid? She asked herself angrily in her head. Its not like she knew him half her life! Or a quarter … or … well, she wasn't too good at math, but … point was- she barely knew him. And she was already feeling for him. That, she learned, showed a lot of weakness, at least if you had joined the White Witch's ranks. Showing a little love for someone, or just even caring about someone as a friend would make you most unbelievably vulnerable in the Witch's eyes. Every day, you were lucky to be alive. This didn't apply to Hazelle, though, since she lived far off in the Western Wood, and hardly ever had to deal with the White Witch's constant demands, simply because Jadis couldn't be bothered to send Maugrim and his pack to fetch her. In addition, it would spark curiosity in the neighboring critters around Hazelle's residence, and Hazelle was supposed to be a spy.

Anyway … Tumnus didn't stop her, which was a thing she was sort of hoping would happen, yet strangely, at the same time, she hoped he wouldn't. And yet, she was slightly disappointed that he didn't stop her from leaving. Just slightly.

"Hazelle!" Upon hearing his voice, she suddenly wished the opposite. It was like a game of tug o' war in her head- she couldn't make up her mind. It wasn't that she didn't like him- she just didn't want to … well … she felt weird around him … and awkward. It made her feel even more screwed up than she already was mentally.

She relaxed her eyelids for a moment, and opened them as she turned to face him. He took the last few steps until he was standing right in front of her, and he took his red scarf off his neck and went to place it around hers, but she stopped him quickly.

"No … I can't," she refused the gift.

"Please take it," he insisted, "I've others … but this one is most precious to me, and I wish for you to have it,"

"But …" she desperately looked for an excuse, since it just seemed awful for him to give up his scarf to a faun like her. Unfortunately, no excuse she could think up was a nice one, for saying that it was cruddy or something would be an absolute _lie_ on her part, so she choked out, "It's _your _scarf!"

"Precisely _why_ I want you to have it," he replied simply. She stared at him as if he was crazy, for a moment, and then she blushed. She tried to hide her childishness as she responded, "Fine, if it will make you leave me alone," she said with a laugh.

He smiled warmly, and placed it loosely on her shoulders over her hair, and wrapped each end over one another carefully. He then gently pushed her black hair out from underneath it, his thumb grazing over her cheek briefly, and she felt sudden warmth in her veins. And the scarf felt most unbelievably soft against her skin.

"I-It … complements your eyes," he pointed out with a blush.

They stared endlessly into each other's eyes for a moment, and then, just as Hazelle's eyes were filling with tears, she suddenly threw her arms around him, holding him tightly as she felt her tears run down her cheeks. He hesitantly placed his hands on her back, and returned the hug.

"I know I just knew you for a little while," she said, still embracing him, "But I want you to know- you've been a great friend." She smiled through her tears.

"So have you," he replied softly. She leant her face near his as she shut her eyes tight to let the tears out.

"Don't forget me," he said quietly.

"Don't worry," she replied hoarsely, "I won't. I _promise_." She said in almost a whisper, releasing him. She looked up into his glassy eyes, and choked out a laugh, "Hey, c'mon, it's not like I'm _dying_ or anything. I'm sure I'll see you around sometime." She said, with sudden confidence.

He nodded, "Yes," he replied, "I sure hope so."

She smiled weakly at him, and bit her lip as she averted her eyes shyly. And then, without warning, she stepped up, slightly on her tiptoes, and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she pulled away, he stared at her in shock.

She gave him a mischievous grin, her hands behind her back, "That's pay back for before," she said with a laugh.

He smiled ear to ear, blushing slightly, "I'm going to miss you," he said, a hint of sadness in his kind voice.

"Don't," she said, smiling, "I'll be around," and with one last grin, she twirled around and headed down the hill towards the Western wood. That was the last time she saw him. She regretted afterwards, whilst she straightened up her home, that she didn't go on the two-day journey to Cair Paravel. It might've been enjoyable … but something just held her back. Maybe it was the fear of getting too close with Tumnus, or because she felt she needed some time off to think about all that's happened- what with her new outlook on life and all. But she thought, mainly, it was because the young Queen Lucy deserved to have her friend all to herself. She decided on this later, of course, that this seemed like a reasonable excuse for not being with him. After all, the girl was so young, and for her and her siblings to take their thrones and rule over all of Narnia … it was a huge responsibility. It seemed best for Tumnus to be there for his little friend.

She still had feelings for Tumnus, _somewhat_ regretfully, and she looked forward to the day that they should meet again, for he'd been the only one able to wipe away the tears of a traitor.

**

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(A/N)-** Crummy ending? I hope not. Rather mushy, but … still, I feel confident I pulled it off all right. Please review- no flames … I hope. :-) Thanks again to everyone who reviewed:-) 


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